A Kiss
by LilyLupin08
Summary: 6th year. Begins with a slight AU, but follows OOTP. It all began with a kiss...
1. Merry Christmas!

A Kiss  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing of the characters or the setting, which belong to the truly wonderful J.K. Rowling. I do, however own the plot, which I'm sure has been done before, anyway.  
  
A/N: Okay, now this is intended to be a one shot, but I think that I could maybe (and this is a big maybe) come up with some more if I get some good reviews. I am open to any suggestions you may have for more of the stoy, and anything you feel I could improve on. Please be nice though folks. This is meant to be a fifth-year AU at this point.  
  
Hermione sped down the empty corridor, praying she wasn't about to get caught. The halls were filled with beautiful Christmas decorations, and all of the school was aching for the vacation to start. Christmas, however, was the last thing on Hermione Granger's mind. Her mind was centered on far different things than the beautiful festivities, she was more concerned about the DA, and Harry...  
The DA was the reason she was in the hall at this moment in the first place, she had left her lesson plans in the room of requirement, which she knew would not be a good thing if they were discovered. Damn that Umbridge!, she thought as she ducked around a corner to avoid being caught by one of the professor's many minions roaming the school. This was all her fault. Hermione had not had high hopes for this year to begin with, but this was a far cry from what even she had imagined. She had hoped that this year would be the year. The year when she finally got a chance to tell Harry that... No, it would not happen this year.  
Harry seemed just as obsessed with that Chang girl as he had last year. Hermione did not like Cho Chang, the girl was annoying, and Hermione felt that there was no reason to trust her. But Harry obviously trusted her, and at this point, that was all that mattered. Hermione turned to the final corridor, and tried to remember where exactly she had left that file with the lesson plans. Maybe, with any amount of luck, Harry would still be there. She distincly remembered there being mistletoe in that classroom. She allowed herself a small giggle at that. Dispite the somewhat obsessive attentions of Ron, Hermione had realized long ago that her feelings toward him were those of a friend, no more than that. But Harry was diiferent, she knew that. She had known that for almost a year, and it had driven her crazy.  
She stopped in front of the classroom, preparing to enter the room. Please be there, she thought, please. The logical part of the girl's brain refused to let her think of him, standing ther, under the mistletoe. She took a deep breath and opened the door, quietly.  
He was there, and he was even under the mistletoe. But there was someone else there also, kissing him. Cho Chang was kissing Harry, her Harry. Hermione was thinking through all of this with a sort of detached curiosity, until it sunk in. Then she did the only logical thing she was capable of at that moment: she ran. She sped down the hall at an alarming rate, and had she been herself at that moment, she would have frightened herself with the depth of emotion she felt. Pain, anger, sadness, revulsion, all at once. And worst of all, she felt betrayed, even though she knew that there was no way he could know how she felt. Hermione knew just how well she had hidden her emotions, because for a long time she had hidden them from herself even.  
Hermione skidded to a halt in front of the Fat Lady, and mumbled the password, pausing just long enough to answer the woman's question:she was fine, of course she was fine, she had absolutely no reason to be otherwise. She threw herself through the common room, and up the stairs to her dormatory. She stopped briefly to check that she was alone, the last thing she wanted was her giggling roomates interrogating her now. She locked the door, and flopped down on her bed, hugging her pillow to her. The tears that had stopped at the front entrance to the tower started again, and she cried softly. It was times like this when Hermione regretted Hogwarts, and being away from her family. Her mother would know exactly how to deal with this, a cup of tea, maybe a large tub of ice cream, and the assurance that everything would turn out like it should. Hermione thought quickly of writing to her mother, but then remembered that they were gone for christmas, and she had no owl. Normally she would have borrowed Hedwig, but facing Harry to ask him if she could use his owl was too much to even think of right now. Hermione stood up, temporarly out of tears, and walked to the window. It had begun to snow, and Hermione had the sudden urge to read. Not that that was anything new, she read all the time. But maybe it would help now, since reading had allways seemed to bring her some level of comfort she had never been able to find anywhere else. Her book that she was reading was currently in the common room right now though, and she had no desire to go down and get it. But since she had thought of it, reading seemed the only thing she wanted to do right now, short of hexing Cho into oblivion. So, resigned to facing the crowd downstairs, Hermione headed down, pausing to check her appearance in the mirror.  
The common room was a noisy jumble of people studying, if it was possible to study in such conditions. She walked over to the couch in front of the fire, where she had left her book before the meeting. Only then, as she picked her book up off the table, did she realize who was sitting behind her. Harry and Ron sat on the couch, totally unaware that she was there. Harry looked distressed, and slightly unhappy about something. She caught a bit of it, before going back upstairs, "...we kissed...". He did not look happy.  
As she entered her room, a thought popped into her head, maybe, just maybe, she still had a chance.  
  
Okay, please let me know what you think! 


	2. Visitors

Okay, chapter two! This was meant to be a one shot, but I got an idea in my head, and it just won't leave me alone. Please review, I need the extra support.  
  
seven months later...  
  
Hermione sat on her bed, reading his letter for the tenth time this afternoon. Harry's latest letter, far from comforting her, had begun to seriously worry her.  
  
Hermione-  
I'm fine, my summer's going great. I've finished all my homework, and I'm in contact with professor Lupin. Hope everything's fine with you.  
Love,  
Harry  
  
In fact, the scrap of parchment he had writtent to her on could hardly be called a letter. It was more of a note, and that was part of what scared Hermione most. Though they all had known this would be a difficult summer for Harry, she suspected she had probably some of the most reason to worry. After all, she had seen first hand what losing close friends (even temporarily) did to him. This however, was much more permanant, and she was begininning to fear that Harry had probably closed himself off from emotion, so as to save himself from even more pain. However, she was not fool enough to buy the act he was putting on. Summers were always one of the most miserable times of the year for him, and she knew that. She also happened to know that the Dursley's rarely let Harry do his homework, let alone allow him to have fun. Besides, who was he kidding? Only the fact that Hermione cared too much about the boys to let them spoil their grades saved the during the summer usually.  
No, she was worried and the thing that scared her the most was that there was little she could do about it. Short of begging Professor Dumbledore, there was nothing she could think of to help, and even that had little hope of working.  
"Hermione!", she heard a voice downstairs, calling her. It was most likely her mother, Amy Granger, trying to get her to come down for dinner. Oh well, mercy knows she would have enough time to ponder this later. She left the letter on her bed and headed downstairs, pausing briefly to check her reflection in her dresser mirror.  
"Yes mum, I'm coming", she replied, taking the stairs slowly, though she had no clue why. She had always loved her house, and its warmth was something she missed the whole time she was away at school.  
"Darling, you have visitors", her mother said, appearing from inside the parlor. Her mother was almost the spitting image of Hermione, and people were always quick to comment on it. Hermione quickened her step, wondering who would want to talk to her.  
When she entered the parlor, she was surprised to see professor McGonagall and Professor Lupin, sitting across from her father. McGonagall had a cup of tea in one hand, and a letter in the other. Hermione immediately assumed the worse. "Oh god", she said, sitting down next to her father and hurriedly searching Lupin's eyes for any type of distress. "It's Harry, he's hurt, oh no..."  
"Oh, no, dear girl", Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "No, we are here in regards to Mr. Potter, however."  
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, but then looked between the adults in confusion. "Why, what's wrong?"  
"Perhaps I could talk with you a moment out in the hall", said Lupin, looking rather uncomfortable, and Hermion noted, more than a little depressed.  
"Of course professor", Hermione stood slowly and led them out into the hall.  
"You know, Hermione, you don't need to call me professor anymore, I'd perfer Remus. Anyway, to get right to the point, I'm worried about Harry. I'd go get him and stay with him if I thought it would help, but we're not close, he doesn't know me all that well. Right now is not the time to get to know each other, and the fact is, he wouln't be safe with me. I want him to be safe and I want to get to know him more than anything, but that's just not possible right now. So...I guess what I'm trying to say is that I wanted to ask you if we could move Harry to your house, at least for a while." While they were talking, they had moved over to sit at the stairs, and Hermione looked at Lupin with confusion written on her face.  
"Why me, why not Ron and the Weasley's?"  
"Because as much as Harry trusts Ron and his family, I think that he trusts you more. Besides that, it's safer for him to be here because nobody will look for him here. I know it would be difficult, but I want to try to get him to open up. I do belive that he has almost closed himself off completely, and I just don't think that Ron has the most...comfoting nature. However, if you don't want to, I understand completely. It's not your responsibilty", Lupin finished, looking away from her.  
"No, it is my responsibility as his friend and-",Lupin gave her a small smile, which she sheepishly returned. "I'll do whatever it takes to get him to open up, of course I will help. That is, if my parents agree."  
"They already have", he said standing up.  
She got to her feet as well, and quietly asked him," I know it's not my place, but how are you?"  
"I'm doing well, thank you for asking, but I have been busy enough to keep my mind off of things", he said, looking a little sad. "I just need to get used to it, I guess, but I do miss him."  
"Of course you do",she said, smiling sadly.  
"You know", Lupin said, walking into the living room,"I think this will be a good thing for Harry. I can see why he likes you as much as he does. You're a strong person."  
"Thank you", she said, sitting down and nodding to professor McGonagall, who nodded back. "I'll do it", she said to the woman.  
"Wonderful", she replied. "We'll bring him by around one, if that would be alright?"  
"That would be just fine", her father answered, as they got up to leave. Hermione followed them to the door. Remus gave her a nod and a smile, and professor McGonagall gave her a small hug, which seemed very out of character for the strict woman. Hermione let it pass, closing the door behind them.  
"So", her mother came up behind her," will you be okay with this?" Amy Granger was perhaps the only person who really knew how deeply Hermione cared for Harry.  
"Of couse mum", she anwered truthfully. "Harry needs me to do this for him."  
"I know darling", she said, laying a hand on her daughter's cheek. "Why don't you make yourself something to eat while you wait."  
Hermione nodded, and walked off toward the kitchen, feeling more than a little nervous.  
  
Okay, now I really need you guys to review. I hate to say it, but I can't put any more up until someone reviews. Please be somewhat kind. 


	3. Not Quite What She Expected

Okay folks! I can't believe I've made it to chapter 3. I'd really appreciate any feedback you guys have, and I'm trying to crank out these chapters as fast as I can, but I've got all my end of term papers that are due soon, so those come first (unfortunately).  
  
Lunch came and went too soon for Hermione, and as she sat at the kitchen counter, she couldn't help but think of how foolish she was acting. Why should she be nervous? This was Harry, her Harry, and he needed her. This last thought was a slightly comforting one, and she couldn't help but get stuck on the fact that Harry needed her.  
Of course, she knew he had always needed her in one way or another. That was just the way the trio worked. And there were other times when Harry had needed her, but that was different, he didn't need her. If anything, he had needed her brain. But now he needed her, really needed her. She was scared witless. What if she couldn't help him? Hermione had very little experience with loss, and this was a serious issue. What if she messed up and he resented her for it? There was no way she would be able to handle that.  
No, no matter what happened, she knew Harry could not resent her. The thing she should have been worrying about even more was handling herself around him. She didn't know how she was going to be able to handle having him around her, all the time, in her house...She loved him and she knew it. She had come to terms with it last year. I had felt good to admit it to herself, but then she had realized that she could think of nothing else. But Hermione throwing herself at Harry was not what Harry needed. No doubt he would already be too emotionally stretched to deal with this.  
No, she made a silent promise to herself. She would not throw herself at him, she would be there for him as a best friend, nothing more.  
Her father walked into the kitchen and began to fix himself something to eat. Since it was Sunday, her parents did not have to work usually, and her father took advantage of that every chance he got. David Granger ran a dental practice with his wife. Though he had grown up in a house full of girls, he had always had a hard time understanding his daughter. She was always something of a mystery to him, but he could tell she was at her wit's end, sitting there staring at what was left of her lunch. When he was done, he walked by her and quickly planted a kiss on her cheek. They smiled at each other, and he walked off to eat his lunch.  
Hermione was slightly confused. Where had that come from? She appreciated the gesture greatly, because she knew just how little they understood each other, but wondered where it came from all the same. Oh well, she began to clear away her lunch, and was washing her dishes when the doorbell rang. She ran her soapy hands over her thighs, leaving big, soapy streaks on her pants. She ran towards the door and threw it open.  
"Harry, hi", she said breathlessly. She noticed that Harry brightened considerably when he saw her.  
"Hi", he said, smiling slightly. He looked sad, sadder than Hermione had ever seen him perhaps. His eyes were dim and slightly black-rimmed, as though he had gotten very little sleep for some time. Maybe he hadn't been getting sleep. She wondered if his nightmares had begun again.  
"Well, I'd better go", said Lupin, clapping Harry on the back affectionately and giving Hermione a warm smile. As he walked away, Hermione remembered her manners.  
"Oh, come in, please", Harry nodded and walked through the open doorway. "Mum, dad, Harry's here", she yelled trying to get her parents attention.  
"Dear", her mother said, walking into the entry hall,"your father left to go to the office, it seems he forgot something there. He told me to tell you hello though", she said, turning to Harry. "We're so happy to have you here, Harry", she said. She looked slightly nervous about meeting Harry, though Hermione had no clue why, they had met briefly a few years ago also.  
"Well, thank you for inviting me Mrs. Granger", said Harry graciously. Suddenly they heard a small ding from the kitchen oven and, making her apologies, her mother rushed off into the kitchen. It was strange, Hermione thought, that he mother should act like that. But she pushed the thought from her mind.  
"Well", she said to Harry, "do you want to see your room?" Harry nodded, and Hermione retrieved Hedwigs cage from its spot on Harry's trunk, and he picked up the heavy object, carrying it upstairs.  
Hermione led the way upstairs, and pausing outside their doors, listed all of the rooms off. The bathroom, her parents room, her room, and the guest room, where Harry would stay. She opened the door, and set Hedwig's cage on the dresser. The room was done in mint green, with darker green for the bedclothes. It was rather large, though it was the same as Hermione's own room. "You can unpack now", she said, "and we can talk later. That is, we can talk if you want." She said this hurriedly, without thinking. She was already afraid she'd pushed him too fast, and he had only just arrived.  
"That sounds good", he said, giving her a look she couldn't quite read. Hermione nodded and backed out the door, informing him that she would be in her room if he needed her.  
A few hours later, it was time for dinner. Hermione had seen nothing of Harry so far and it was beginning to worry her. She went up to his room and said through the door, "time for dinner Harry". He replied that he would be down in a minute, so she left him alone.  
But fifteen minutes later, he still had not joined them. Hermione, now very worried, had excused herself from the table and headed upstairs to talk to him. Hermione had not expected him to be this quiet. If anything, she had expected him to be beyond angry, in fact she might have welcomed that. She knew how to deal with an angry Harry, but she did not know how to deal with this quiet Harry. As she reached his door, she knocked quietly and slowly walked in. The sight that met her eyes was one she had half- expected. Harry was sitting on the bed, looking through his photo-album. He looked up at her when she entered, and didn't even try to hide his tears.  
At that moment, her instincts kicked in, and she rushed over to him, holding him as he cried softly into her shoulder. She knew that under any sort of normal circumstance, this would never happen, and it confused and unnerved her to see him like this. Maybe he wasn't just upset about Sirius.  
When Harry was done, he sat up straight and avoided her eyes. She didn't say anything, figuring that she would let him talk. It was important that he talked, according to what she had heard. "Look", he said,"I'm so sorry, I should really get a better grip on myself, you don't need this...", he trailed off, yawning.  
"Nonsense", she said, laying a tentative hand on his arm, "you can be sad all you want". "You should go to bed", she commented quietly as he yawned again.  
"Yes", he said, smiling sleepily at her. Quickly, he leaned over and kissed her cheek, "thanks".  
"Sure, anytime", she said, blushing. Harry was smiling at her as she backed out the door. "Night", she said.  
"Goodnight", he agreed.  
When she was safely in the hall, she tried to calm her now extremely excited stomach. Had he done that on purpose?  
  
Okay, you guys totally amaze me! Ten reviews for one chapter. I can't believe it, that's the reviews for my other story times three! I'd really, really appreciate your feedback on this chapter too. Also, I'm thinking I may bring Sirius back, let me know what you think of that, ok?  
  
Miste- Thank you so much, I hope you like this chapter as much as the others.  
  
HJ-HJ- Hope this new chapter was satisfactory. Thanks for the review.  
  
Hpfreak123- Thanks, I'm wondering what I should do from here, I have a few ideas, but I can't decide...thanks!  
  
wolfgp- I agree that Rowling will have Harry and Hermione meet up. Thanks for the comment.  
  
snosamie6- I sure hope Hermione can help Harry, thank you so much for reviewing.  
  
peachie1st- I'm so happy you're so excited! Thanks.  
  
Alexia Gold- Oh my gosh, thank you so much for your review, you totally brightened my day!  
  
Lady Emily- Thanks, and I know the idea is nothing new, but it wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided to write it. I hope the story is okay, I'm more or less writing as I go, which is unusual for me.  
  
Brittany- Thanks. I'm having fun so far, but I'm just writing as I think of it, so I hope I don't run out of ideas.  
  
Robinue- Thanks for the ideas and review. I know it wasn't too fluffy but I hope it was okay. 


	4. Unwelcome news

When Hermione awoke the next morning, she found that her parents had already left to go to work. So she began to make breakfast, pausing every once in a while to listen for sounds of movement from Harry's room. Since she heard nothing, she assumed he was still in bed, However she soon discovered that this was not true.  
"Morning,"she heard a quiet voice say from behind her.  
"Harry!, morning," she said, still recovering from the slight shock his silent appearance had caused. "Did you sleep well? Aren't you up early?," she asked.  
"Yes, actually I did sleep alright," he replied, leaning up against the counter near her. " I always wake up pretty early during the summer. Oh, I hope you don't mind, but I went ahead and took a shower," he said looking slightly sheepish. Harry had always polite, and she assumed this was just another way of trying to be polite to his hosts. Although the way he was looking at her was starting to make her blush, which in turn made his smile even wider. She was tempted to stay quiet, if only to make sure he kept smiling. It had been so long since he'd really smiled around them, and she had missed it more than she thought.  
"Of course I don't mind, Harry you can do what you like, it's your summer also," she said. "So, do you want some breakfast?" Harry smiled and nodded, looking happy at the change of subject. As they sat down to eat, Hermione asked, "So, is there anything you want to do today?"  
"No, not really," Harry replied, "is there anything you have planned?"  
Hermione shook her head no, as she had a mouthful of eggs. "No," she said, swallowing,"usually I would do my homework during the day, but I doubt you want to do that." Surprisingly, Harry shrugged. "Well," she continued, "the day is pretty much ours to do what we want, except for Luch, which my parents are usually home for lunch. They come home at around six, then we eat. I know it sounds boring."  
"No," Harry smiled, "it sounds great, and I might actually be up for a bit of homework right now." This surprised Hermione, but she didn't comment.  
So together they gathered up all their summer homework and set to work on it out in the sitting room, occasionally commenting on a particularly difficult problem, but working for the most part in companionable silence. When lunchtime came around, Hermione was startled out of her studying by the sound of the front door slamming. Harry was on his feet in an instant, looking inquiringly at Hermione. She shrugged in answer to his look, as she no clue what was going on. She heard a series of slams coming from the kitchen, and assumed that her mother was most likely more than a little angry. She signaled to Harry to wait and walked into the kitchen, where her mother had begun to make lunch. Though she continued to slam plates and utensils around the large kitchen, her mother's anger diminished somewhat upon seeing Hermione standing at the door looking thoroughly frightened.  
"I'm sorry dear, it's just...,"her mother trailed off, looking upset, "your grandmother decided she's coming for dinner."  
"Oh," Hermione nodded, it made sense now. Her grandmother was a nosy old woman, and took it upon herself to make sure her son and only granddaughter were well taken care of. However, in order to fill this "duty" of hers, it meant that every once in a while (all the time), it would be necessary to step on her daughter-in-law's toes. This never seemed to bug her grandmother, as she was convinced there could be no other way to do things than her own. Hermione's mother tried desperately not to take the elderly lady's criticism to heart, but often failed. As a result, Amy Granger dreaded her visits, and tried everything to get out of them. It seemed her mother had been unsuccessful this time though, and Hermione felt for her.  
"Tonight?," she asked tentatively, not wanting to make her mother angry.  
Hermione's mother nodded, throwing a dishrag into the sink, having completed the sandwiches laid out for lunch. "She wanted to see you before you left for school, and when I told you had a guest, she said she would bring along your grandfather to make it even, oh, and that I shouldn't make that casserole I made last time. It wasn't very good." She sighed tiredly and looked around.  
Hermione, sensing that her mother was in need of time to herself, took two of the sandwiches, and said "go lay down for a while, Harry and I can take care of ourselves, I'll get you in time to go back to work." Her mother smiled gratefully and shuffled upstairs, looking worn-out.  
As Hermione entered the sitting room with their lunches, Harry looked up from his homework, asking what was wrong. Hermione explained as he took the sandwiches from her, setting them down on the table where they had been sitting.  
When she finished telling him what had happened, he smiled and said, "well, at least we know what we're doing tonight." He laughed, and reached over and laid his hand on hers. "It'll be fine, I promise"  
She nodded dumbly and turned on the t.v., not really paying attention to the show.  
  
Now I know this is pathetically short, but as I said before, I have all my term papers due right away, and this is just a filler chapter. The action should be picking up in the next chapter, which is in the works right now. It should be ready to post by the time I get back from vacation. Keep your fingers crossed so I don't run out of ideas, although I do see a plot emerging (slowly), and keep those reviews coming, I still want more input on if Sirius should come back by the way. Thank you SO much to Logan Potter, Kitimat-born, Kris, and Ever in the Shadows. 


	5. Dinner

Chapter 5- Dinner  
  
After her mother returned to work, Harry and Hermione finished their homework. When they were done, Harry questioned Hermione further about her grandparents. She in turn questioned him on the same subject. It turned out that he had never met his grandparents on his mother's side, since they had died not too long before his parents, according to his aunt Petunia. Apparently his aunt had refused to elaborate further on the subject, because he had no idea who his father's parents were. He had, however, met Vernon's parents more than once, and from the way Harry spoke of them, Hermione gathered that they weren't any better than their son. Hearing of the horror that was "Grandma and Grandpa Dursley" made Hermione grateful for her own grandparents, even if they were slightly overbearing.  
When her parents arrived home from work, Hermione's mother set to work almost immediately making dinner. Though the house was quite clean, her father set to tidying it up even more after his wife snapped irritably at him. In fact, Amy Granger had begun to snap at everything, including inanimate objects. So when David Granger motioned for Harry and Hermione to escape upstairs, they jumped at the chance and dashed up to Hermione's room.  
Once there, Hermione collapsed on her bed, sighing, and Harry seated himself comfortably on a large, butter-yellow chair in the corner of her room. The chair matched the room, which was done in very basic shades of the same yellow and a light lavender. She felt bad for her mother. Entertaining had never been something she liked to do, even if she was good at it, and Hermione's grandmother was always a tough critic. At least this time she was bringing her grandfather, who tended to lighten the mood, even if he did tell rather embarrassing stories...his personal favorite was the time Hermione had lit her hair on fire during the school Christmas pageant with a candle when she was six. She could only pray that he would keep the stories to a minimum tonight. Harry got up slowly out of the chair and began to look around the room. As she watched, , he stopped in front of her bookshelf, which was full. He laughed softly and shook his head, moving on. Next he paused in front of a framed award from grade school. It was for perfect attendance, and she could tell he was smiling at it even from behind. Finally he stopped at her desk, where Hermione had many of her favorite photos displayed.  
"Who is this?," he asked, pointing to a picture with her and a boy. In it, she was posing dramatically, and the boy had his arms around her, smiling.  
"Oh, that's my cousin," she said, noting the strange expression that had flitted across his face when he had first seen the picture. "That was taken last year. Colin's a few years older than I am, he's pretty much my big brother." She also noticed the oddly relieved expression on his face now that he knew who Colin was.  
"Oh, do you see him often?," Harry asked, seeming genuinely interested. She nodded and went on to tell him that she and Colin usually spent much of the summer together, but as he was studying abroad this year, he would not be able to make it home for the summer holiday.  
Harry moved on, looking at more of the pictures. She had many of Hermione, Ron, and Harry, and some with her mother and father. There was also one that had only her and Harry, which had been taken the previous year during Christmas vacation. Both of them were smiling and laughing happily at something that Harry had said, and both of them looked very much at ease with each other. Just as Harry turned to comment on the picture, Hermione's mother yelled up to them that her grandparents were there.  
When Hermione and Harry got downstairs, they could immediately see her grandparents, who were standing in front of the door, obviously waiting for her. The second Hermione's grandmother saw them, she broke into a huge smile and stated towards them, arms outstretched.  
"Darling, it's been so long," her grandmother exclaimed, pulling her close. Harry could see Hermione nod in agreement from where he stood, looking rather squashed. "Oh, we've missed you so," Mrs. Granger (the elder) declared, squeezing Hermione extra tightly for emphasis, before releasing her into the arms of her waiting grandfather, who was much more gentle. He whispered something in his granddaughter's ear, and she laughed. Suddenly, Hermione's father caught sight of Harry standing at the stairs, looking rather uncomfortable. Hermione saw her dad introduce Harry to her grandmother, and then he came over to introduce him to her grandfather. They talked politely for a few minutes, until Hermione's mother entered the room, announcing that dinner was nearly ready. Suddenly Hermione's grandmother said "Amy dear, what did you do to the decor? It was so nice last time we were here, but now everything's so...oh well," she trailed off after Hermione's mother retreated into the kitchen muttering something under her breath.  
"Hey, Mum, Dad, why don't we go in the sitting room and chat while Amy finishes up dinner," David said, trying to sound cheery, and motioning toward Hermione to go after her mother. Since she did not feel like leaving Harry alone with her grandparents, she grabbed his arm and steered him toward the kitchen.  
"Mum," Hermione said, walking slowly into the kitchen, "are you okay?" Her mother was standing over the sink, looking slightly shell- shocked. "Harry and I came to help finish dinner." Amy turned around, looking grateful, and Hermione heard Harry say from behind her,  
"I wouldn't let that get to you, Mrs. Granger. Your house is decorated perfectly, she's just looking for something to criticize," Hermione suddenly felt a surge of gratitude to Harry, since this seemed to be exactly the thing her mother needed to hear. She perked up and nodded her head and Harry continued "would you like some help," motioning to the table, which still had to yet to be set, and the food.  
Five minutes later, as Harry and Hermione set the table, Hermione thanked Harry. "It's no big deal," he said, walking past her into the kitchen to get more silverware. On his way in though, he stopped and laid a hand gently on her arm "no big deal," he said quietly, and continued on his way. Hermione felt like she was going to fall over. What had that meant? Harry never was one for physical contact, and never was the one who initiated it. Maybe...no, she shrugged it off, and continued to put plates on the table. When they were done they began to lay out the food on the table. Hermione's mother had made ham, and it looked beautiful. Hermione's father and grandparents joined them at the table when they were done, and Hermione was pleased to see that her grandmother could find nothing wrong with the ham. That did not, however, stop her from sending it scathing looks from across the table. They chatted politely while they ate, and Hermione had high hopes that the rest of the evening would be somewhat peaceful. However, that was not the case...  
"So, Hermione," her grandmother said, "we had no idea when your mother said you had a guest that it was a boy," she said, looking up at Hermione and winking, which caused Hermione to turn a rather embarrassing shade of pink. She sneaked a glace at Harry, and found that instead of getting embarrassed, he was laughing. "Yes," her grandmother continued," it's been a long time since our Hermione had a boyfriend." This statement caused both Hermione and Harry to turn pink, and to mumble.  
"Actually, dear, that's right," her grandfather chimed in, causing Hermione to feel a bit of dread as to what was coming next, "yes, remember that neighbor boy she used to chase around and make kiss her?" Hermione gasped and hid her face, which was now a bright shade of red, in her napkin, while Harry sat and laughed, not bothering to keep his amused chuckles quiet. "Oh yes," her grandfather continued, seeing that he now had the attention of the whole table, minus Hermione since she was still hidden under her napkin, "yes she used to chase after that poor boy, knock him down and make him kiss her. What was his name Hermie?" He was now addressing Hermione, using the same pet name she had always hated, however had never had the heart to pretest against.  
She figured she might as well answer, since she did in fact clearly remember the incident in question. Plus, since her parents were nodding their heads, she couldn't very well say that her grandfather must have gone 'round the twist in his old age. She looked up and squeaked "T.J.," in a very small voice, refusing to look at Harry. Her grandfather nodded and proceeded to tell the story of her Christmas pageant, how her hair had caught fire, and how the other little girl was standing by had screamed bloody murder and had to be dragged offstage. Privately Hermione had always felt that the girl was a crybaby, and when she got up the nerve, she whispered this to Harry who merely chuckled and winked at her. She blushed (again) and turned away. All in all, the rest of dinner went fairly smoothly, except that her grandfather told more stories, including the Easter when Hermione had left eggs in her room, where they proceeded to go bad, and smell. So, naturally Hermione was pretty much stuck with a permanent blush the rest of the evening. To be truthful, Hermione was rather glad when her grandparents announced that they had to go. She told them goodnight, and they all headed up to bed.  
Once there, Hermione sat on her bed in her nightclothes, even though she knew she would not be able to sleep. Dinner had been so embarrassing, those were thing she'd rather Harry didn't know. While she was sitting with her head in her hands, Harry had come into her room, she looked up to see him standing in the doorway, a sheepish expression on his face.  
"I'll just wait," he said, starting to back out of the door.  
"No, no come in," she said, calling to him. He came back towards her. She noticed he looked nervous, which was not normal for him, especially around her. Hermione scooted over on the bed and motioned for him to sit next to her. He sat on the end of the bed and looked at her. Suddenly he smiled at her.  
"I liked meeting your family tonight," he said, "they were really nice, and your grandfather was very funny," he continued, giving her one of his little half-smiles she loved. "I still find it hard to believe that you did some of that stuff though," she shook her head and opened her mouth to argue with him, only to find that Harry had quickly pressed his mouth to hers. He was kissing her, she realized with a start, and as she relaxed into him, she also realized that this was nowhere near what she had imagined. It was better.  
When she and Harry pulled apart, she found that she had moved to be considerably closer to him, and that he was smiling nervously at her, so she smiled back, trying to hide her blush. "You're not mad?," he asked quietly. She shook her head, and mumbled that she had felt the same for some time. "So does that mean we are...," he trailed off, and she nodded. He laughed, and gently pulled he closer, kissing her softly again, this time she was prepared and she realized with a start that he was actually quite good at this. They were just beginning to get comfortable when they heard the tapping of an owl at the window. Harry sighed and went over to the window, "it's addressed to the both of us," he said, opening the letter, while Hermione got some water for the owl. "It's from Tonks," he said, sitting down on the bed. When she was done with the owl, he pulled he down to sit next to him and looped his arm around his waist, she smiled and leaned into him. "They're coming to talk to us tomorrow, I think something happened..., "he trailed off, looking at her. Seeing her suddenly scared expression, he pulled her close and whispered, "it'll be okay," before he kissed her again.

Okay, I hope you all know how sorry I am that it took this long to update, but I just got my summer reading list, and it looks like I'm going to be busy this year. Anyway, thanks to all the wonderful review and a big thanks to everyone who put me on their author alert and favorites list. You have no idea how much that means to me. By the way, I made a decision about the whole Sirius thing after thinking it over (you'll just have to read on to see what exactly I decided to do) and I also tried to play with the formatting on this chapter, if anyone knows how to get double spacing to come though, I'd be very thankful if you could e-mail me and explain it. Please read and review on this chapter, so far it's one of my favorites.


	6. More news

Chapter 6-  
  
The next morning, Hermione informed her parents of Tonks' upcoming visit. They both would have liked to stay, but had to work since they both had appointments. Since neither Harry or Hermione knew for sure when Tonks was planning on arriving, they both decided to wait downstairs. Both were relatively silent, as they were still rather unsure of themselves after the events of last night. Hermione thought privately that this was rather silly, because they had always been comfortable around each other, and she said as much to Harry, who agreed.  
"Yeah, I guess you have a point," he said, looking embarrassed.  
Hermione nodded, and continued, " Harry, what are we going to do about Ron? What will he do when he finds out...you know how he is."  
Harry agreed, and mumbled his suspicions about Ron's feelings toward her, which seemed to be slightly more than platonic. Hermione was not surprised, as she too had her suspicions. "So...maybe we should wait to tell him, you know, until we've had a bit more time to adjust." Hermione nodded, and leaned towards him, smiling. "Of course, we could start adjusting now." With that he pressed his lips to hers and drew her closer. They sat kissing for a while, until there was a knock on the door. Hermione stifled a groan and went to go answer it.  
When she opened the door, she was greeted by Tonks, looking very respectable today with her long blonde hair. She welcomed her into the house, and saw that Moody was also there, standing behind Tonks and looking grim. He entered the house and nodded politely to Hermione and Harry, who had come to see who exactly was at the door. "Please, come and sit," said Hermione, motioning them towards the sitting room. They followed, and Harry and Hermione both took a seat on the couch, while Tonks and Moody sat down in chairs facing them.  
"There's been a bit of action at headquarters lately," Tonks began, looking unsure of how to begin. " Also at the Burrow. There was an attack there last night, the house was all but destroyed." Hermione gasped, and Tonks continued quickly, "nobody was hurt, and they're being moved to a secret location as we speak. It seems Ginny had a friend staying at the house as well, so Miss Lovegood has also been moved with the family."  
Before Hermione had even had a chance to ask, Moody growled, " we don't know where they are now, none of us do, so it won't do you any good to ask." Hermione turned to Harry, who looked quite shaken. She reached out towards him and he grabbed her and hugged her close.  
"What's going on with Voldemort?," he asked.  
"So far it's been fairly quiet, not what we expected. There's only been a few attacks, counting the one on the Weasleys, and most of them were small, mostly focused on remote muggle villages." Frankly, Hermione was surprised at the amount of information they had just been given, though Harry didn't seem to be. She decided she would just have to ask him about it later.  
"So you're sure nobody was hurt?," Harry asked. Tonks and Moody both nodded. "What's happening at headquarters?," Harry asked.  
Both adults exchanged a look, and Tonks said, "well, we're having a bit of a problem with where we're at now...it might not be safe anymore. There's suspicion that Lucius Malfoy is going to attempt to lay claim to the house through Narcissa, and there's no legal loophole so far that would prevent this." Harry exhanged a look with Hermione, and Tonks continued, "of course, there's also talk that Sirius left either you or Remus the house in his will, but we haven't been able to find it anywhere, even though Remus says he's sure that Sirius had one done." Tonks looked slightly hesitant about saying this last part about Sirius, and Hermione couldn't blame her. They all knew Harry had a temper that could be set off in the blink of an eye.  
Harry just nodded, and apart from looking a bit down, made no more mention of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. They began to chat about the Order of the Phoenix in general, and learned that everyone was alive and well, though very anxious. Dispite Hermione's invitation to Tonks and Moody to join she and Harry for lunch, both adults left, making promises to owl them with further news and updates.  
Closing the door behind them, Hermione turned to Harry and was swept into a bone-crushing hug. Slightly unsure of how to react, though sure that this was no simple disply of newfound affection, Hermione was content to wrap her ams around Harry and lean against him. When Harry finally pulled away, he kissed Hermione gently on the lips with a barely audible "thank you" and walked toward the kitchen. Hermione waited a moment before going into the kitchen, hoping to give Harry a moment to compose himself. When she entered the kitchen, Harry had already stared on getting some things for sandwhich. He offered to make he and Hermione grilled-cheese sandwhiches, an offer she gladly accepted. They were sitting happiliy munching their sandwhiches when her parents walked in on their lunch break. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between them that they not tell her parents that things between them had changed, thouh Hermione felt sure that her mother knew something was up, and her suspicions were confirmed when her mother sent her a covert wink at her from across the table. They did, however, tell her parents all of what Tonks and Moody had said. Both of her parents were appropriately shocked, and were worried about the safty of their own house. Hermione assured them that they were in no immidiate danger, and Harry pointed out that they were as safe as possible for the moment, as they were hidden in the muggle world. Her parents wer relived at this, and left after lunch to go back to work.  
In contrast the excitement of the morning, the rest of the afternoon was uneventful, and after their study session both teenagers took some time out for a bit of a snog session. Dinner was uneventful, and everyone went to bed on time. Apart from the passionate kiss Harry and Hermione shared in her room, the evening went as usual, except for the fact Hermione went to sleep with a smile on her face.  
  
Okay, now I know how long this chapter took to get posted, and for that I'm so sorry. I had some personal stuff come up, and I had to take a few weeks off, and there was no internet where I was at. Two weeks with no internet, what a bummer. Anyway, read and review. Hope you liked the chapter. 


	7. Surprise

Chapter 7-

Hermione slept in the next morning, and she woke up to the smell of bacon and pancakes coming from downstairs. So she quietly got dressed and made her way to the kitchen, where she saw Harry standing over a pan of bacon and looking quite happy with himself. Since he had not seen her standing behind him yet, she decided to surprise him. He did not jump when she slid her hands around his waist, but said that he had heard her come into the room. She pouted a little, until she saw that Harry had made her favorite, strawberry pancakes. Harry smiled at her and kissed her gently when she moved to devour the whole stack. Hermione was almost done with breakfast when the phone rang. "Hello?," she said into the receiver.

"Honey, hi," she heard her father on the other end.

"Dad, what's wrong?," she asked, slightly worried since her parents never usually called her while they were at work.

"Nothing's wrong sweetie, I just called to tell you we're going to take off work early. We got a rather interesting phone call this morning, from Mr. Lupin in fact. He says he has something very important he needs to discuss with us, so we'll be home in a little bit."

"Oh, um, okay," she replied, feeling very worried. Why would Lupin call her parents at work, what was wrong? She hung up the phone, feeling horribly confused and turned to Harry. She told him what her father had said, hoping he would have some clue as to what this was all about. Much to her disappointment, he had no idea why Remus would have seen fit to call her parents.

They both remained on edge until her parents came home, at which time they put on cheery smiles, trying to assure her parents that they were both sure nothing was wrong. Hermione was sure that her mother remained unconvinced however, and was sure she saw right through their act. Lunch was a tense affair, there was very little conversation. Hermione barely tasted the turkey sandwich she had made for herself, she noticed Harry looked like he had the same problem. After lunch, they sat down in the living room to await the arrival of Remus.

When he finally did arrive, Hermione was surprised at the difference in his demeanor. He was smiling, which relaxed Hermione right to begin with, though it did not seem to calm Harry nearly as much as it did her. Her parents welcomed Remus into the house and they all took seat in the sitting room. Harry sat down quickly next to Hermione, quietly sliding his hand to rest inconspicuously on top of hers. He was turning paler by the second, and she shifted her hand slightly to get his attention, giving him and encouraging look when his eyes fell on her.

"First off," Remus began, "I'd like to thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Granger for allowing to come here so quickly, and that this is not a bad visit, as I can see you think it is, Harry." Harry blushed slightly and shrugged. "In fact, this is a good thing, for the most part. I have good news and bad news, but the good news first. Now I know this will come as a shock, believe me, I didn't think it was possible at first...but it is." He was babbling slightly, and looking to one side of him, as though there was something there, but there was not. At least, that's what Hermione had thought, until she noticed a tiny ripple in the air, almost like an invisibility cloak was there.

There was.

Hermione gasped as it was pulled aside to reveal a smiling face, one she would recognize anywhere...Sirius. Harry was not trying to hide the fact that he had now grabbed her hand, hard. She winced slightly in pain and he loosened his death-grip. Harry was looking between the two men now, shaking his head. Hermione knew he didn't believe it, but she also knew that it had to be true, nobody would play such a cruel joke. He looked back at her, so she smiled and nodded, gesturing to Sirius with a smile on her face, he had tears in his eyes. Harry slowly let go of her hand, then launched himself at Sirius, who gladly wrapped his arms around Harry, holding him tightly. Both men sat almost completely still, content to just hold each other, and Hermione smiled, knowing that Harry had had a dismal lack of physical contact before Hogwarts. She remembered hugging him when they were younger, and being confused that he never seemed to be quite sure how to hug her back. Harry and Sirius slowly let go of each other, and Hermione was flattered when Harry moved aside to let Hermione see Sirius, who held his arms open for a hug, just as he had with Harry. She hugged him briefly and he placed a kiss on her cheek, in a very un-Sirius-like gesture.

Harry and Hermione moved to sit back down on the couch, when Hermione noticed the odd expression Harry had on his face. He looked very overwhelmed and slightly frazzled. Remus had already moved on to introduce Sirius to her parents, so Hermione stepped in saying "while you get settled in here, Harry and I will get everyone some drinks." Harry seemed to really like this idea, as he quite nearly pushed her into the kitchen, where she began to make a pot of tea.. He stood behind her breathing rather deeply and Hermione, sensing that he was attempting to gather his thoughts, gave him some privacy.

Suddenly, he spoke, "you know, I thought I was just about ready to deal with him being gone," he said in a mummer, conscious that the person he spoke of was only a room over. "Is it bad I don't know what to think about all this?"

"No, no of course not. It'll take time, just like it took time to get used to having him around the first time. What you're feeling isn't wrong, it's okay to be confused Harry," she tried to assure him. Though in the end, she felt that the kiss on the cheek she gave him before they headed back into the sitting room did more good than her words had.

When they got back into the sitting room, everyone was waiting for them to join the group. Amy stood up right away, attempting to help pour the tea, but Harry brushed her off with the assurance that there was no need. She noticed Sirius and Remus smile at each other over Mrs. Granger's attempts to fuss over the tea, which Harry was handling quite nicely. Hermione knew her mother was nervous, since she never fussed this badly unless she was nervous.

When everyone was settled, Lupin began again, "now for the bad news..." Harry and Hermione exchanged glances. "We received word of suspicious activity on your block last night. There's enough evidence to suggest that it's a possibility that Voldemort has learned of your location here at the Granger's."

The room was silent for a moment, until David Granger spoke up, "then how do we protect Harry and Hermione? Against any of these people, we're defenseless."

"Well...we could move them, but since we're not sure that Voldemort is even aware of your current location, we decided to try something else. If you're willing to cooperate, mind," Lupin said slowly. Hermione wondered what they were planning, she had the feeling that they thought her parents wouldn't like it.

"We want Sirius to stay here with you, for protection," Remus said quickly. Harry's head shot up, his gaze shifting from Sirius to Hermione in a flash. She in turn, looked at her parents, who looked at each other.

"I don't see why that should be a problem," Hermione's father began slowly, "but he'd have to stay in the room with Harry."

"Oh that won't be a problem," Sirius said, "I can sleep in my animagus form. I hear better then anyway." Hermione's parents were looking very confused, so Hermione cut into explain that Sirius was an illegal animagus, which meant he could change into an animal at will. They looked very intrigued, and agreed with out persuasion. She felt that they were relieved to have someone there who could protect them in the event of an emergency. While Remus and her parents began working out the specifics of the arrangement Hermione spaced out, but came back to her senses when she noticed that both Harry and Sirius were beginning tho get bored. She also noticed that (unsurprisingly) Sirius got antsy when he got bored.

So, in order to keep both men entertained, she offered to give Sirius a tour of the house. The three of them left Hermione's parents and Remus to sort out the rest of the details, while they began to tour the house. Hermione suspected Sirius' experience with muggles was limited, since he seemed fascinated with the microwave in the kitchen. He also loved the refrigerator, his eyes lighting up with excitement when she explained the concept to him. It was only then that Hermione began to remember how Sirius' appetite matched Ron's, which was an amazing feat, considering Ron ate more than any human being Hermione had ever come across. Harry stayed close to Sirius all throughout the duration of their tour, which was fine by Hermione since she felt that they might want to wait to tell Sirius about their new relationship until later, when they could discuss the issue in private. Sirius and Harry were also somewhat reluctant to let each other out of their sight, which Hermione thought was to be expected even if it was inconvenient. When they had finished their walk through the house they entered the kitchen, since her parents still were not done. Once there, Sirius apologized to Hermione, apparently he was sure he was placing too much of a burden on Hermione and her family. She assured him that he was not, and that she felt much safer knowing there was someone in the house who could perform magic. He seemed relieved at this, and they went out to see if Remus and her parents were done talking. They were, so everyone bid Remus goodbye. Hermione hugged him, and both Harry and Sirius repeated the gesture, much to her surprise. He left with a wave, and the group settled down for a night in.

Okay, this is a bit longer than I would normally do, but I think it turned out alright, It's one chapter I think has turned out better than the others so far. I would appreciate your reviews, because I would really love to know if you guys are liking this story. I'm begging you, please review!


	8. The Truth

Chapter 8- The Truth

Once Remus left, Harry and Hermione set about trying to ask Sirius how it was that he was again among the living. However, this proved to be more difficult than previously thought. First off, it seemed that Sirius was a master at steering away unwelcome conversation topics. And secondly, it was discovered that Sirius could be very stubborn at times (though how, Hermione though, this had escaped them was beyond her). So, with a slight air of tension in the room, everyone set about perusing normal activities. Hermione's father left to go back to the office, and her mother retired to the kitchen where she proceeded to begin making dinner, much to Sirius' apparent delight.

Harry and Sirius pulled out a deck of cards and began to play, while Hermione hurried off to get a book from her room. It was one she had been eyeing for some time, and had finally ordered it form Flourish and Blotts around the beginning of the summer. She had been anxious to read it before, but now she felt that she was truly calm enough to enjoy the subject of the book. The book was called "Animagi Basics", and Hermione had always had a certain curiosity about the subject. She also figured it would be a good thing to read up on, and considering with their hectic lifestyle it might be a useful skill to look into. She trekked downstairs to read in the living room, since she had a bad feeling about leaving Sirius alone in any sort of muggle dwelling just yet, even if Harry was still there also. 'Heavens know the trouble Harry causes enough on his own!', she thought with an unladylike snort.

When she got downstairs, she situated herself next to Harry, who was across from Sirius. They both looked up and smiled when she entered, Sirius rolled his eyes when he saw the book in her hand. As a last minute thought, Hermione grabbed a pen and a pad of paper off a side table for note taking, rolling her eyes back at Sirius. He chuckled and resumed the game. It seemed that he and Harry had started a game of 'go fish' since neither of them had a suitable deck of cards to play exploding snap with. Hermione settled herself in and began to take careful notes. The room settled into a comfortable silence, interrupted only by the sound of Harry and Sirius playing their game. When they were done with their game, which Sirius had won, both men leaned back into their respective seats. By unspoken agreement, neither Harry nor Hermione had mentioned their newfound relationship. Harry leaned over, resting his head against her shoulder to look at her book. While she usually did not like people reading over her shoulder she figured that this concerned him anyway, so she might as well let him.

He raised his head to look her in the eye when he realized the subject of her book, she met his stare with a grin which he returned. Silently she handed over her notes, which he began to pour over with interest. Sirius was setting up a game of solitaire and had yet to notice their slightly odd behavior. It seemed that very few words were needed between she and Harry lately, Hermione thought with an inner grin. Then again, it had always been that way to some degree she mused. Harry slowly looked up with a thoughtful look on his face. "Hey Sirius, do you think you could fill us in on exactly what happened with you and that veil?," he said softly. It worked.

Sirius looked up at him with a pained look in his eyes, then there was a flash in his eyes and he said, " I will if you tell me what happened between you and Dumbledore. He seemed...different last time I talked to him. He seemed more his age I guess. I know something happened." Hermione dimly heard Harry's sharp intake of breath, but it didn't quite register. She too had noticed the heavy weight that seemed to rest on the old professor and the sad way in which Dumbledore would look at Harry, who refused to look back at him.

She looked over at Harry, who did not quite meet her eyes when he said "nothing happened, there's nothing to tell."

"Well then," said Sirius, "nothing happened to me either."

Harry glared at Sirius, " I have a feeling you know exactly what happened."

"Maybe," Sirius said defiantly, then his look softened. "I'm sorry you had to find out that way. You must know I tried everything I could think of to get him to let me tell you myself, but it just didn't work out the way I planned. Nothing has turned out the way I planned," he added. Harry's glare had softened into a scowl somewhere during the course of this speech. Hermione was begininng to feel a slight sense of foreboding. What was so important, and why could Sirius not tell him? Come to think of it, why had harry not told her himself? She slowly turned towards him, putting her book on the coffee table as she did so.

"Harry?," she asked, silently pleading for him to tell her what was so important and to trust her.

Since she had not expected him to say anything, she was surprised when he said "I'll tell you. But I want to know what happened to Sirius first."

Sirius hesitated, then nodded. "It's really not that bad, it's just hard to talk about, to remember. When I fell through at first all I could think about was how to get out. On the other side it's just...there. I don't quite know how to describe it. There's nothing, just empty space. Eventually I realized that there was no way out. So I gave up. I looked around some more and then I...stared to see things. Horrible things. Like one great big boggart, over and over again. then I started to hear voices, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was laying outside the veil. I'll tell you, it was quite difficult to get out of the ministry. But I did it. It took quite a while to convince everyone that it really was me, but finally I did. And instead of making me stay back at Grimmauld, they let me come here. Which is a good thing. I missed you so much, really Harry I was miserable knowing I might never see you again.

Harry nodded, tears showing slightly in his emerald eyes. He looked over at Hermione, and glanced back at Sirius, who nodded encouragingly. Then Harry spoke. he told them of his outburst at the headmaster, all he had said, and all that Dumbledore had said in return. Finally, he told them haltingly of the prophecy. Hermione listened, horrified as she thought over the implications of what Harry was telling her. She wanted desperately to run upstairs into her room, where she would be free to grieve in private. But she knew that she needed to hear Harry out, to let him know he had her support. When Harry was finished, Sirius laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. Hermione gave him a hug, which he gladly returned. for a moment nothing was said. Hermione suspected that they each felt enough had been said already.

After a few minutes, Hermione excused herself and headed up to her room. Once there she sat on her bed, trying desperately to both force herself to accept what Harry had said, and to forget it. It was no use. Within seconds, Hermione had begun to sob uncontrollably. She was so wrapped up in her grief that for a moment she failed to hear the light tapping on her door, which was steadily growing more insistent as she did not respond. With a jolt she realized someone was knocking quietly on her door.

"Come in," she said, hurriedly attempting to wipe away the traces of her tears. It was for nothing though, since the second Harry walked in her door, closing it gently behind him, Hermione was up off her bed facing away from him, in tears yet again. Harry was silent for a moment, and Hermione wondered if he had left, when she felt arms encircle her from behind, pulling her close. She was momentarily stunned. Harry had never hugged her before, it was always Hermione who initiated contact between them even when Harry did respond willingly. Hermione shuddered as sobs shook her body, and Harry pulled her even closer, humming and placing an almost shy kiss on her temple. When Hermione responded by leaning her weight on him, he seemed relieved and he too began to cry softly. He tried to hide it from her, but she could feel his tears on the back of her neck where he had pressed his head.

After a moment, when both of them were calm enough, they sat down on the bed, Harry seemed reluctant to let go of her so she did not try to pull away. As they sat there, Harry said, " I'm sorry. I didn't want to worry you...you do too much worrying about me. And I really would rather I had the chance to tell you when we were alone, but maybe this was a good thing. I doubt I would have been able to say all that I did without Sirius pushing me. Please Hermione...it's not that I don't trust you, it's just I didn't want to hurt you." Hermione nodded, burying her head against his shoulder, and told him that it would always be her job to worry. He replied by shaking his head, kissing her tenderly but not arguing with her further. they stayed like that for a while, both drawing comfort from the other. Occasionally Harry would reach over and kiss her, almost as if to assure himself that she was still there. Subconsciously, it occurred to Hermione that Harry had probably been afraid that she would leave him after discovering the truth about his fate. Though how he could think that about her baffled Hermione. Sometimes it scared her to think about just how low Harry's self-esteem really was. But it actually seemed to be getting better. He was repeatedly opening up to her, even if it was just small talk and kisses. It was a step in the right direction though, she mused, and she didn't exactly mind all the kisses.

"So," Harry said, finally breaking the silence and introducing a much-needed subject change, "what do you think about these animagi transformations? Do you think we should try it, because you know, it doesn't seem to require any wand work. So the ministry wouldn't be able to track it. I could help you with the potion, I'm not very good at potions but I can try. I think it would be a really good idea, especially if we could keep it a secret for now and just not register. What do you think?"

Hermione nodded, and said, " yes, I totally agree. In fact, that's one of the reasons I bought the book. I think it could be a very valuable skill for us, and since we don't have anything else to do right now, we could spend most of our time on that."

"One reason why it pays to do your summer homework early," said Harry jokingly. Hermione laughed, and Harry joined in. Their laughter was interrupted by the sound of Sirius knocking on the door. Hermione responded with a polite, "come in," and Sirius entered. He looked highly relieved to see both of them laughing. When they asked him if anything was wrong, he responded by saying that he was bored and just wanted to see how they were doing.

Sirius got a funny look on his face and when Harry asked what was wrong, Sirius said, "who was with you when you went to the Department of Mysteries?"

Harry and Hermione were both slightly confused but decided to humor him, naming everyone that had accompanied them that night, including Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Luna. When they reached Luna, Sirius stopped them and said, " not Chris and Adele's daughter?" Harry and Hermione both nodded their heads, since Hermione knew Luna's father's name from their big story in the Quibbler last year. They were both at a loss, however, as to how Sirius would know them. They also both knew that Luna's mother was dead, as Harry had informed them last year. Despite her earlier unfriendly feelings towards the slightly different girl, Hermione had to admit Luna had grown on her, though she still seriously disagreed with some of the things Luna seemed to accept as fact.

"Why the sudden interest?," Harry asked, voicing Hermione's thoughts.

"Well, I just wanted to see, you know, just to make sure that the Order had everyone watched that should be. But Luna...your mother was good friends with Adele, you know," he said to Harry. "That was one friendship I never did understand. Addie was always a bit...well, spacy, for lack of a better word. Your mother was always so practical, but I know Addie was actually quite smart. Even if she didn't act it. I wonder what happened to her." When Harry and Hermione told him, he nodded. "That's too bad, especially that Luna had to see that. Your mother worked in experimental charms, too."

"Really?," Harry asked.

Sirius nodded and began to tell them stories of Harry's parents, including the fact that James Potter had been an auror, which neither of them had known. He continued until dinner, which was a quiet affair, with very little activity. Harry and Hermione managed to steal a few secret kisses before heading to bed, and Hermione slept soundly.

Okay folks, you have no idea how sorry I am that this chapter took so long to post, but I've been rather sick. In fact, much of this chapter was written from a hospital bed. As a result, I'm not sure how much I like this chapter, but I hope it clears up any lingering questions about how Sirius got to be there. I hope they aren't way out of character, I tried, really I did. I'd appreciate any reviews and feedback. Plus, if any of you would like to maybe do some beta-work for me, I'd really appreciate it. Email me if you're interested, and we can talk it over.


	9. Found out

The following week passed in more or less the same manner, with Harry and Hermione begininng to study how to become animagi. Surprisingly, it seemed that Sirius did not know of their plans, which was just as well for they had no idea how he would react. Nor did he know of Harry and Hermione's growing relationship. This was also surprising, since it was obvious to at least Hermione just how happy Harry seemed to be lately. Of course, she was also obliviously happy most of the time as well, so that might have been part of it.

It was hard at times to find time to prepare the potion that they would have to take to become animagi, since Sirius most of the time insisted on being around at least Harry, if not both of them. The best time for them to be alone was mostly in the morning, since Sirius often slept appallingly late. This did not bother Harry and Hermione however, since they were content to simply enjoy each other's company. The potion itself was not that difficult to brew, certainly Hermione had made others more difficult. The thing that bugged Hermione was that this all seemed to be going too smoothly. Remus had clearly stated that it had taken the Mauraders a far longer time, and she knew that for all his joking, Sirius was actually quite smart and powerful, not to mention James Potter, who had been Head Boy. It was confusing, and she was sorely tempted to ask Sirius for his opinon. But she didn't, and they continued on with the potion. The whole process was rather time-consuming, since the potion was only the first step. It would allow them to change forms, though what they changed into and how quickly they grasped the skill was entirely dependant on how much power they had, not to mention the sheer will to succeed. Hermione and Harry both knew the danger that they were getting themselves into. Transformations could be very tricky, and if one were to loose their concentration for just a moment, they could end up half-animal for life. Not to mention the other practical aspects of it. You had to learn not only to change your body, but also to incorparate any other personal items you had on you, such as a wand and glasses. This was one part Hermione knew Harry was dreading. If he couldn't get his wand into the transformation, then it would do him no good to be stuck in an attack with no wand. Not that having a wand would make no difference if he had no glasses, since he was very nearly blind without them.

They had decided to brew the potion in Hermione's room, since neither Sirius or her parents ever really went in there. Both Harry and Hermione were more worried about Sirius finding out what they were doing than Hermione's parents. Usually she would have never thought of misleading them, but this was important. Lately it seemed there was very little danger of being discovered though, since Mr. and Mrs. Granger were both very busy with their practice. Hermione was sure that her mother knew more than she let on, having caught the various knowing looks that were directed at her throughout the course of the past few days.

Early the following Tuesday, Harry and Hermione both woke soon after the Grangers left, as they had begun to do habitually since Harry had arrived at the Granger residence. They set to work on the potion after eating the large breakfast Harry had cooked. They were nearly finished with the potion and as a result had some free time to themselves. All that was left was for the potion to stew for the rest of the day. It would be ready tomorrow.

Both Harry and Hermione had just settled down on her bed, she was reading one of her many textbooks, and he was content to browse through his much-worn copy of Quidditch Through the Ages. There came a gentle knocking at the door. Both Harry and Hermione were puzzled, Sirius almost never woke this early. "Come in," Hermione answered. Sirius walked slightly apprehensively into the room.

"Sorry to disturb you two," he said quietly. Hermione instantly knew something was amiss, and she motioned for Sirius to sit in the plush chair in the corner. When he was comfortable, he looked over at Harry and Hermione. "I got a letter this morning from Remus. Apparently there's suspicion that Voldemort knows where you two are...or at least that's what we're told. We have no actual evidence yet, but the threat is serious enough that I need you two to have your things packed and ready to go. If it comes down to it, we'll portkey to a safe location, and Hermione's parents will be taken care of, so there's no need to worry about that."

Hermione's breathing was suddenly very shallow. Death Eaters, here? But this was her home, her _muggle_ home. for years it had been her safe haven, and many a time she had taken comfort in the fact that it was unlikely part of her muggle world would be attacked. Apparently this was not so. "Where would my parents be taken," she inquired softly, "not with us? Why not?"

"I'm not sure where Dumbledore would put your parents," Sirius replied, "but I do know that he has safe houses all over, they would be quite safe there. You know as well as I do why they wouldn't be able to come with us...I know it's hard, but two muggles who are unable to defend themselves would be in far too much danger if they stayed."

Hermione agreed, but it still made her nervous. Her parents were the last true link to her normal life. But really, what was normal? Certainly her definition of normal had changed radically over the past few years.

She and Harry both exchanged a look. He smiled at her comfortingly and told Sirius calmly, "we'll be packed, don't worry about us." Sirius nodded and left the room. "Hey," Harry said from beside her. "You know your parents will be fine. As much as I dislike Dumbledore right now there's no way he'd let something happen to your parents. Okay?"

Hermione was very grateful to Harry at that moment, having a small understanding of just how much Harry truly did dislike Dumbledore and how much it cost him to say those words. "I'm fine," she replied.

"Of course you are, he said, and leaned across the bed. He kissed her softly, smiling. She giggled and kissed him back. In a matter of minutes they were kissing heavily, both leaned back on the bed. Hermione let out another soft giggle just in time for Harry to laugh, his breath tickling her neck, and pull himself off her. "Well, time to pack," he said, and practically skipped out of the room, laughing at Hermione's barely stifled groan of frustration from behind him on the bed.

It wasn't until later in the day that Hermione saw Harry again. Both had decided to take Sirius' advice and had packed their things, and were now ready for a quick getaway, should it become necessary. Hermione had not quite realized just how many books she had until she was actually attempting to pack them into her trunk. It was only when she actually sat down at the table to eat lunch that it occurred to her how hungry she was. It seemed that everyone else at the table had the same idea, and lunch was a quiet affair as a result.

Once they were done eating, Hermione decided to take advantage of the rare good wather and lay out in the sun. So, book in hand, she ventured outside to read up some more on animagus transformations. It was an hour later when a smiling Harry woke her from her nap with a kiss.

"Hey," she said, "you know, it's a good thing you woke me up, I can't believe I actually dozed off, especially when this book is so interesting." Hermione gestured to the large tome in her hand. "Did you know that there are over 50 ways to..." Harry smiled and silenced her with a kiss, which she returned ever bit as passionately as he did.

From behind them there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. It was Sirius.

Okay, thank you guys so much for being so patient with me. I've been so busy. If I weren't on spring break, there never would have been time to do this. I've gotten some comments on the spacing in the story, so I tried something else and I'd really like to know if this is any better. I think it's the same as before and if someone could explain how I were to go about fixing it that would be very helpful. The next chapter is in the works, any reviews would really help boost my morale. Thanks again guys.


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